The health ministry in Gaza, administered by Hamas, announced on Sunday that more than 9,700 individuals have lost their lives in the Palestinian territory since the outbreak of the conflict with Israel last month.

According to the ministry, of those casualties, at least 4,800 were children. The conflict began when Israel initiated airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel on October 7.

Israeli officials reported over 1,400 casualties, with a majority of them being civilians, as per AFP reports.

These grim statistics bring the combined death toll on both sides to a staggering 11,187.

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Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, laid out a condition for a ceasefire.

During a visit to the Ramon Air Force base in southern Israel, he asserted that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire in the Gaza war without the return of hostages. He conveyed this message to both Israel’s allies and adversaries.

Netanyahu stated, “I also want you to know that there is one thing that we will not do – there will be no ceasefire without the return of the captives.

The very idea of doing that has to be removed from the conversation.”

He continued, “We (are saying) this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue (the battle) until we have defeated them (our enemy).

We have no alternative. I think today everyone understands that.”

Pope Francis also weighed in on the conflict, appealing for a ceasefire in God’s name.

He expressed his concern for the serious situation in Palestine and Israel, where countless lives have been lost.

The pope implored, “In God’s name, I beg you to stop; cease using weapons.”

He expressed hope that efforts would be made to avoid an escalation of the conflict and pleaded for the immediate release of hostages, emphasizing the impact of the war on children.

In another development, the White House disclosed that more than 300 Americans, U.S. residents, and their families have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip in recent days.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer revealed that this evacuation was the result of intense negotiations involving all relevant parties in the conflict.

However, the U.S. government believes that there are still “a number” of Americans remaining in Gaza, and efforts to evacuate them will continue until every American who wishes to leave is able to do so.

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The Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt was opened on Wednesday after weeks of conflict, allowing some wounded Palestinians and individuals with dual nationality to exit.

Egypt had committed to helping evacuate 7,000 foreigners via this crossing.

Nonetheless, Hamas announced on Saturday that the evacuation of dual nationals and foreigners would be temporarily suspended until Israel permitted wounded Palestinians to reach Rafah for necessary medical treatment.